IV LOCAL/S TATE The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 4, 2001- 5A Winter commencement marks last event of 2000 By Lisa Hoffman Daily StaffReporter As she stood among 2,000 graduate can- didates during winter commencement, School of Education graduate April Slater said as a freshman she marveled at the size f the University; "I remember being in awe my first days, and, yes, it is still big," Slater said. Crisler Arena filled with excited stories of parties, bowl games and study groups Dec. 17 as studentscrossed into new territory. "Hallelujah, I'm done," rejoiced LSA and School of Education graduate Andrea Morrow, while reminiscing with fellow Education School graduate Emily Toth about storming the field at Ohio State three years ago; a prelude to the Rose Bowl. "We were running around in chaos," Toth said. "We were sprayed with pepper spray and had to jump on to these big mats." Student speaker Renee Sakra united the memories of fellow graduates in her address, reminding them of memorable events, including the celebration at Univer- sity President Lee Bollinger's house follow- ing the Penn State University game in 1997, rallying to express views on the current law- suits against the University in using race as a factor in admissions and being the last class to escape online registration. "We were fortunate enough to have these years together," Sakra said. "We need to take these interactions and weave them together to make the fabric of our lives." Bollinger offered advice to students on how to avoid glitches in their weaving dur- ing his address titled, "The Need to Know." Bollinger focused on how to cope with the overwhelming amount of knowledge avail- able to them. "There is a huge amount of knowledge I could possess and never will," Bollinger said. "Having a purpose or a goal gives us givens and makes the lack of knowledge more manageable. "Learn to live as comfortable as you can with this natural cycle of life," he said. Guest speaker and author Elmore Leonard's address to the graduates remind- ed them to "be cool and try not to take yourself too seriously." "If you're sufficiently driven, not even a computer will stop you," Leonard said. "There's nothing like doing something that makes you happy." Leonard received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his renowned nov- els, which provide a look into contemporary America. His works include "Get Shorty""Out of Sight," "The Bounty Hunters" and his latest work, "Pagan Babies." His novel, "Hombre," was chosen as one of the best 25 Western nov- els of all time. He has also received awards, inclding the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mys- tery Writers of America, the Michigan Foundation for the Arts Awdrd and the' Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award. Other honorary degree recipients included building expert John Tishman, the chair and chief executive officer of Tishman Realty and Construction Company, Inc., who received an honorary engineering degree and Madame Lin Ju Ying, honorary president of the Chinese Nursing Association, who received an hon- orary degree in science. The graduates now venture on to new opportunities, like LSA graduate Jon Cas- sady who said he's taking the next semester off and applying to law school. "We're going to LA to work at Boeing Satellite Systems," said engineering gradu- ate Beatrice Hahn. "It's hard to sum up four years into words." Faculty Senate Vice-Chairman Moji Navvab told the graduates, "Now, you wi! be able to have fun! New congress opens with remarks on narrow, spiDt WASHINGTON (AP) - The 107th Congress opened yesterday with an optimistic blend of ceremony .and speechmaking that bumped swiftly into the reality of a House and Senate narrowly divided along party lines. First lady Hillary Rodham, Clinton joined the ranks of lawmak- ers who will govern alongside a new president. "It serves no purpose to dwell on" the divisions of the recent campaign, said Speaker Dennis H astert, elected to preside over a paper-thin Republican majority in the House. "My friends, we need to get over . "Never before has America hadT a 50-50 Senate," Democratic leader Tom Daschle said in opening-day remarks across the Capitol. "An even split does not necessitate political gridlock ... but does require bipartisanship.", Mrs. Clinton, no ordinary newcomer, was sworn in as New York's new senator while her husband, the president, sat beaming in the spectators' gallery. Striding across the Senate floor, the'first lady received the same handshakes as other new senators, then an enthusiastic hug from Sen. Strom Thurmond, the 98-year-old South Carolinian who Jose unsteadily-from his seai to offer an embrace. Mrs. Clinton and other senators took their oaths in groups _of four ach newly elected or re-elected lawmaker escorted by the othersenator from their home state. The scene was far different in the House, where Hastert administered the oath of office to 433 other lawmakers en masse. In contrast to the studied decorum of the Senate, dozens of House members brought their young children onto the floor. The opening gavels fell at noon in both chambers, and the talk turned quickly toward political accommodation. At the same time, the struggles under way in both hous- es over organizational details seemed to foreshadow battles over policy in the two years ahead. Democrats complained about proposed changes in the House rules that Republicans crafted, and said the GOP was proposing to deny them adequate representation on committees. "This is the first test of bipartisanship ... and the Republican leadership has failed it," said Rep. Robert Menendez, (D-N.J.). The rules changes cleared on a party-line vote of 215- 206. In the Senate, Daschle and the Republican leader, Sen. Trent Lott, were struggling to agree on a set of ground rules to guide the Senate in an unprecedented 50-50 era. Democrats reached parity by picking up four seats in the election, but Republicans will have control after Inaugura- tion Day, when Vice President-elect Dick Cheney is sworn in and can break ties in the Senate. Jean Carnahan of Missouri took the oath of office in the Senate, gaining the seat her husband was fighting for when he was killed in a small plane crash a few weeks before Election Day. to joln Bush. team ABRAHAM Continued from Page 1A lion and appointment will be good for DTE Energy and for the energy industry and users throughout the country." Rusty Hills, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, said in a written statement that he also supports Abraham's nomination. "Spence led the charge for Michigan and Midwestern families who were hit hard by gas prices this past summer, Hills said. "And, it's also why he will be an effective advocate for common sense poli- cies that benefit hard-working. middle class Americans." But Abraham did not rece ve m1u:h praise from the League of Conservation Voters, which had given him a career environmental rating of 5 percent and a rating of zero for last year. According to its Website, the league spent S700,000 to help Stabenow defeat 'nt last year. "Senator Abraham has one of the worst environmental records of any formner;° enator, and that's why the LCV named him to the= Dirty Dozen and that's why we ran a campaign against him," LCV communication director Lisa Wade said. Wade later added that the 1eaguii did -not "expeCt his attitude to chang' and proni sedi t; ,asc Abraham's \-otng record during the confirmation process. "It's a signal of envuronmenta, regression, not progression," Wade Dan -arough, a conservation organizer with the Sierfa Cb, went so far as to characteruize Bush's selection of Abraham as' an abysmal choice." "Hle has even voted to abolish the agency he was named to head," E rough said. "George Bush 'talked about wanting to be-a uniter afd healer ... this a highly divisive appointment." - The Associated Press con- tributed to this report. AP PHUiU Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.) participates in a mock-swearing in-Washington on yesterday, which was facilitated by Al Gore. Carnahan was appointed to the seat won by her late husband. Group protests urban sprawl, sets fires MOUNT SINAI, N.Y. (AP) -- Warning "If you uild it, we will burn it," a radical environmental toup opposed to urban sprawl has claimed respon- sibility for thle bdtnino f three luxury houses winder construction on what was one of Long Island's last remaining farms. A small explosive device was set off over the weekend, causing up to 530,000 in damage to each home. No one was injured. "This 'iopeftrlly-provrided a firim message that we will not t-oeraw the' destruction of our island," the arth Liberation Front said a statement faxed to The Sssociated Press on Sunday. Police also believe the ELF is responsible for mil- SNO W Continued from Page 1A "The main issue is t'he streets couldn't be clea because of parked cars," said Michael Scott, manage parking and street maintenance. "Vehicles were plo In, narrowing the street to one lane. It was a mecihan to get streets clean." Before the declaration, flyers were posted on cars residences explaining where residents could park on Win days. - Cars that were still left on the streets were finod and towyed, Scott said. On less congested streets, Scott said tow trucks w move the cars, plow the street and return the car. ThIe cited 124 violations and moved 166 cars. To help facilitate the city, the University opened p ing lots to help keep cars off the street. "We suspended parking enforcement in any par tructures adjoining city streets, such as Church Stre *trown said LSA junior Jessica Burstrem stayed in Ann Arbor the break and -said the snow emergency helped clea parking congestion. "The snow emergency was good, because before ti was never anywhere to park," Burstrem said. The city budgets money for snow removal from street fund's surplus. Scott attributed the expedience of the emergenc three factors: "The Christmas break for students, prior notification helped," he said. "Alternative par took cars off the street that would have normally im *d process." To help avoid problems in the future, Scott said, more than four inches of snow, residents should rem their cars from the street to reduce congestion. "Ti ,are record snowfalls;" Scott said. "It's hard to keep but we do what we can." lions of dollars in arson and vandalism to six otherr unoccupied homes on Long Island over the past month.r Police, the district attorney's office and the FBI have formed a task force to investigate the fires and identify the members of the loosely constructed environmental group, headquartered in Portland, Oregon. "This is not an environmental action. This is a crimi- nal act," Suffolk County Police Commissioner John Gallagher said yesterday. "I am concerned with their latest statement that everything we build that they deem environmentally sensitive, they will destroy." The Long Island Builders Institute has offered a S 10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of those ; SUICIDE Continued from Page 1A red According to Public Act 339, an officer has a r of responsibility to take someone into protective wed custody. if they are of a mind to hurt themselves, ism Kinsey said. "Obviously, he wafnted to hurt himself, which and is why he was taken into psychiatric services," he cer- said. "Based on their findings lie would either be S30 admitted or released. It's up to them afterwards what happens to the person's treatment and ould whether they are admitted or released," Kinsey city said. "It's up to them at that point." A socipl worker, who asked to remain ark- anonymous, said upon their arrival into the Psychiatric Emergency Services, the clini- king cians evaluate patients who are diagnosed for et," hospitalization or are referred to an outpa- tient facility. - for "Like any emergency room, we assess and r up diagnose them to a safe setting," the social work. er said. here the y to READ and king THE ped- DAILY. love hese AvLY. responsible for the weekend vandalism. The ELF acting at times with the Animal Libera- tion Front, has claimed responsibility for dozens of actions across the country since 1996, including' ia 19-8 blaze at a Fail, Colorado, ski resort that caused SI2 million in damage. The environmental group said the expansion project threatened lynx. "They want to stop endless devastation of the American landscape by overdevelopment,," said Craig Rosebraugh of Portland, Oregon; 'hp( idei- fies himself as FLF's spokesman but says he is jM a member. lie said ihe group's leaders communicate with him by a variety of means that preserve their anonymity. If the patient sufficiently passes the evaluations, they can be released from the temporary care of the facility Kinsey said in his experience, most suicide attempts have come from people who have had something significantly catastrophic happen in their life. Also, in most suicide attempts there is usually a history of mental illness, he said. Kinsey said the longer the victim talks with an officer, the better chance an officer has of keeping them alive. Following previous suicide attempts, the Ann Arbor department has discussed safety devices for suicides in order to catch a victim, but deter- mining the appropriate length and size of a device are not the issue. Kinsey said such a device might make the r situation more dangerous for those on the - ground, since a landing spot would not be defi- ni te. Using the Maynaid Street parking structure as - an example, Kinsey said "the ledge is so long, he could move back and forth." SETTLEMENT Continued from Page I1A - ed into New Student Orientation in 1995. Although she was unsure if information was handed directly to students, Benz said that the infor- mation -was deii nitely available ' "They get so n uh .mat rial. that they just pitch most of it," Benz said. To change that, this year the Uni- versit y handed out information t;egaii g dh-r.g atfd, atlcqhoj use, a xsyithesancr~s ,of GlIB in residence halls and Greek houses after classes, began iii an attempt to "get past that point where everything gets lost in the shuffle." In February 2000, the Washtenaw Country Circuit Court dismissed the part of Cantor's law suit th at claimed the University failed to provide reasonably safe housing and adequately warn the students of hazardous conditions in Mary Markley Residence Hall. Do you suffer from astha? Subjects are needed to participate in a clinical research study to evaluate the effectiveness of an investigational drug for asthma. Participants must be: Men or women between 18 and 70 years old An asthmatic for 6 months or longer Willing to stop current medication or onlv use Ventolin Able to complete 6-7 outpatient visits over 6-8 weeks Study-related physical exams, breathing tests, Jobs!!!ff Winter Term Apply now at the Law Library NEED A CLASS? Try Sociology 389!